GBS Applied Intelligence

Smarter Execution for Modern GBS Teams

GBS Applied Intelligence is a continuous, expert-led program designed for global business services (GBS) leaders and shared services executives. Our experts work alongside teams to ideate, pressure-test assumptions, navigate trade-offs and guide transformation from strategy through implementation. We provide context-specific direction to shape your operating model, define priorities and understand constraints, not generic recommendations. Backed by decades of execution know-how and our proprietary AI-enabled platforms, we help GBS organizations move faster, outperform peers and achieve breakthrough results.

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How GBS Applied Intelligence works

GBS Applied Intelligence is a membership program providing expert-led support to GBS leaders – from strategy and ideation through execution – aligned to your priorities and pace at every stage of your GBS transformation journey.

Applied Intelligence begins by helping leaders evaluate and articulate what matters most. Using diagnostics, benchmarks and guided decision support, leaders gain a fact-based view of current GBS performance, service delivery readiness and improvement opportunities, enabling structured ideation and clearly defined priorities and direction.

Applied Intelligence experts work closely with leadership teams to evaluate strategic options, prioritize high-impact initiatives, and align GBS operating models, governance, technology, and capabilities. Executive briefings and structured discussions focus on key trade-offs and critical decisions grounded in Digital World Class® performance measurement and real-world experience.

Once priorities and decisions are defined, we remain actively engaged to support disciplined execution, change adoption, and capability development. Through decision support, on-demand learning, and AI-enabled intelligence, we help GBS teams implement effectively and integrate Gen AI where it delivers measurable value.

As business conditions and priorities evolve, we adapt to stay aligned with your changing needs. Ongoing performance insight, refreshed diagnostics, and expert-led check-ins help you monitor outcomes, adjust course, and sustain GBS performance improvement in a dynamic business environment.

Risk to Readiness Gen AI in Finance

Featured RESEARCH

2026 GBS Key Issues

GBS leaders are moving past AI experimentation and delivering real performance impact in 2026. As workloads rise 15% while resources lag, leading organizations are using AI to close productivity gaps, strengthen service resilience and scale performance across global service delivery.

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Featured Insights

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Build a future-ready GBS organization with our Agentic Enterprise Operating Framework

The Hackett Group’s Agentic Enterprise Operating Framework outlines how strategy, governance, data, technology and agentic workflows work together to modernize GBS. It provides a structured blueprint for scaling artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly while strengthening service delivery performance, operational control and enterprise value.

Comprehensive GBS service domains we cover

The Hackett Group® GBS Applied Intelligence program supports transformation across the full range of services delivered through a GBS organization. It is structured to help GBS leaders and their teams optimize strategy, streamline operations, and enable enterprisewide objectives. Our experts provide deep execution know-how across the following GBS service domains:

Finance services

  • Customer-to-cash

  • Account-to-report

  • Plan-to-results

  • Govern-to-compliance

Procurement services

  • Purchase-to-pay

  • Source-to-contract

Human resources services

  • Reward-to-exit


  • Time-to-pay


  • Talent management

Information technology services

  • Information technology (IT) planning and management

  • Applications, data and analytics
  • Infrastructure, security and end-user services

Supply chain and operations support

  • Planning

  • Make-to-deliver

Customer operations support

  • Customer service strategy for satisfaction

  • Order and contract management

  • Service operations and execution

What’s included in the GBS Applied Intelligence program?

Your GBS Applied Intelligence membership is designed to function as an extension of your leadership team. Members gain ongoing access to experienced professionals who help you identify high-impact opportunities, mobilize the organization and sustain change.

Executive briefings

Participate in focused, expert-led sessions addressing the decisions GBS leaders are making right now – from operating model design and AI investment choices to service delivery performance targets and governance aligned to measurable outcomes.

Always-on conversational AI support

Get instant guidance between expert touchpoints. AskHackett™ delivers cited, context-specific recommendations grounded in real-world enterprise experience – helping leaders clarify options, validate assumptions and keep decisions moving.

On-demand expert inquiries

Ask questions on GBS strategy, AI, operating model design, governance, or service performance topics, and get fast, practitioner-backed insights that support faster, better-informed decisions when timing matters most.

Agentic enterprise readiness models for GBS

Evaluate GBS readiness across data quality, enterprise resource planning (ERP) architecture, governance controls, analytics maturity and talent capability using structured assessment frameworks.

Hackett AI XPLR™ Ideation Workshop

Participate in a facilitated Hackett AI XPLR™ working session and receive GBS-specific Gen AI use cases – each defined with business context and rated for complexity, expected benefit, and return on investment (ROI) to support informed prioritization.

GBS-focused learning and enablement

Engage in short, applied learning sessions covering topics that matter to your organization, such as Gen AI in shared services, operating model transformation, service delivery optimization, automation opportunities, service management, digital enablement and more.

Leadership forums and peer exchanges

Participate in invitation-only executive forums, roundtables, webcasts and confidential benchmarking discussions focused on GBS operating models, Gen AI adoption, service delivery performance, governance, and enterprise transformation execution in action.

GBS performance measurement

Leverage curated GBS key performance indicators (KPIs) and participate in topical performance studies to quantify gaps in cost, cycle time, productivity, service quality, automation adoption, analytics capability and AI maturity, translating targets into clear, actionable priorities.

Proprietary GBS thought leadership

Access exclusive, data-driven GBS research, case studies, perspectives, podcasts and analysis on leading practices in GBS strategy, service delivery models, digital enablement, automation, and emerging trends shaping world-class GBS performance.

How GBS Applied Intelligence drives transformation

GBS Applied Intelligence embeds experts into your GBS transformation agenda, guiding strategy and ideation, design, and execution from within. We stay engaged through implementation, governance and performance measurement to turn strategy into operational capability.

Define and align the GBS strategy

We work with GBS leaders to clarify organizational priorities, ideate, align GBS strategy to enterprise objectives and establish measurable service delivery performance targets grounded in Digital World Class® standards.

Design the operating model for execution

We help redesign GBS operating models to integrate automation, AI, governance and talent, ensuring structure, controls, and accountability are aligned before implementation begins.

Build, deploy and sustain process improvements

We guide the transition from design to execution using a disciplined design-build-run approach that streamlines processes, embeds controls and operationalizes best practices across GBS.

Improve cost-efficiency and service performance

We apply proven methods to strengthen service delivery efficiency, optimize cost-to-serve, reduce operational complexity and improve productivity, with performance metrics tied to measurable value realization.

Operationalize data and analytics

We help GBS organizations build and embed advanced data and analytics capabilities, designing a robust insight-generation process that spans data sourcing, analysis, insight translation, storytelling and governance so information consistently drives better business outcomes.

Strengthen governance and risk management

We align governance models, internal controls, and risk frameworks to support scalable AI adoption and sustainable performance improvement across GBS operations.

Develop talent for modern GBS organizations

We support GBS leaders in building digital proficiency, strengthening change leadership and equipping teams to sustain GBS transformation over time.

The Applied Intelligence advantage

Make better and faster decisions

GBS Applied Intelligence integrates a hands-on team of seasoned experts directly into your decision flow, bringing practical judgment, enterprise execution experience and AI-driven insight to every high-stakes choice. Traditional analysts observe from the outside, but we help GBS leaders pressure-test assumptions, weigh trade-offs and create realistic business cases.

Drive measurable impact, not just insight

GBS Applied Intelligence turns analysis into action. Our experts help GBS teams prioritize the initiatives that deliver the highest ROI, stay aligned during execution, and close the gap between strategy and results. This ensures decisions translate into measurable business impact rather than remaining as recommendations.

Stay ahead as conditions change

As your business priorities and operating environment change, our support adapts with you. Expert-led guidance evolves in real time to reflect shifts in strategy, GBS operating models and AI maturity, helping leaders anticipate change, course-correct early, and stay aligned with enterprise objectives today and over time.

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FAQs

Who is the GBS Applied Intelligence program designed for?

The program is built for senior GBS leaders, including GBS heads, shared services leaders, business services executives and transformation leaders. It is ideal for organizations aiming to modernize GBS operations, improve service delivery excellence and gain expert guidance through a structured engagement model.

What does a GBS Applied Intelligence program include?

Our GBS program includes access to The Hackett Group’s proprietary benchmarks, strategy
discussions, performance assessments, curated research and tools, and participation in peer learning events. Program participants also receive access to the Hackett Connect® platform.

Do participants get access to Hackett AI XPLR™ through the program?

No. Program participants do not receive a direct license to Hackett AI XPLR™. Instead, our experts use the platform on your behalf, using your information to identify, evaluate, and prioritize GBS-specific AI opportunities and deliver structured outputs tailored to your operating environment.

How does our use of Hackett AI XPLR™ benefit program participants?

Hackett AI XPLR™ helps ideate and identify client-specific AI opportunities across GBS processes and service workflows, prioritizing initiatives based on impact potential, complexity, feasibility, and strategic fit. For selected initiatives, we translate findings into practical, environment-specific inputs that accelerate solution design and implementation decisions.

What do we need from clients to deliver relevant insights through Hackett AI XPLR™?

Hackett AI XPLR™ draws on a robust library of enterprise service processes and best practices, enabling meaningful insights even with limited input. However, the more detail you provide on your technology landscape, current workflows, performance metrics and pain points, the more precise and client-specific the outputs become.

Does GBS Applied Intelligence help clients design and implement solutions identified through Hackett AI XPLR™?

Through the program, experts support clients as they design and implement Hackett AI XPLR™ solutions, answering questions and providing recommendations to guide successful execution. If hands-on design and deployment support is needed, program participants can engage The Hackett Group’s transformation teams for direct delivery assistance.

Why do we conduct a readiness assessment for the Agentic Enterprise Operating Framework?

Adopting AI is not enough. Sustainable advantage requires reimagining how work is structured and governed across GBS operations. The readiness assessment evaluates preparedness across the framework’s core dimensions and strengthens your ability to scale AI-driven performance.

Can the program be customized based on our GBS organization’s maturity or strategic priorities?

Yes. The program adapts to your current state, whether optimizing shared services delivery, deploying new technologies or expanding GBS capabilities, with expert support aligned to your priorities and transformation goals.

Is benchmarking included in the GBS Applied Intelligence program?

Yes. Program participants receive access to a curated set of GBS benchmark metrics, enabling comparison against peers and Digital World Class® organizations to support targeted improvement and informed decision-making.

How do we help program participants establish and mature their AI centers of excellence?

We draw on real-world transformation experience to guide the structure, staffing, governance and
design of AI centers of excellence (COEs), sharing examples and practices to ensure COEs are executed effectively.

Can multiple stakeholders from our organization participate?

Absolutely. Participation supports multiple roles:

  • A primary contact to coordinate engagement
  • Additional team members with approved corporate access who may participate in executive briefings, diagnostics and learning events

How can we get started or learn more about the program?

To understand how the GBS Applied Intelligence program can support your goals, contact us for a personalized overview or consultation. Join other organizations achieving transformation and service excellence through The Hackett Group’s unique engagement model.

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